1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to mobile shelters. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile multi-functional shelter unit for use as a portable working area and garage for heavy machinery. Other applications include but are not limited to mobile classrooms, mobile training facilities, mobile simulators, mobile dormers and mobile hospitals.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention relates to a mobile multi-functional shelter unit for use as an expandable/extendible working area. There are many designs for structures that can be used as mobile shelters but most are small in scale and do not readily accommodate the needs associated with the various other applications that such a shelter should have, such as the ability to maintain and store heavy machinery, to serve as a mobile classroom or training facility, to run simulators, as well as the ability to serve as a facility that would be available for use as a hospital or as a dormitory.
A few types of shelters are known to the applicant:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,499 discloses a collapsible but having a roof that lifts on four hydraulic jacks. This roof is supported by two long beams which can also be used as support for a crane bridge. The hut, supported on wheels or on skids, has large doors at both ends and can be used as a welding shop or a hospital.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,845 discloses a mobile service station having a ramp to wheel a vehicle inside. The roof to the trailer is expandable and the side wings are extendible. A compressor and gas tank are carried on the frame of the truck.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,505,767; 3,645,559; and 7,112,029 all disclose methods for transporting a building on a frame, using detachable gooseneck devices at the front and at the back of the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,260 discloses a trailer for transporting a railway car. The trailer has a detachable front portion and a rear bogey. The rear bogey has an engine and a hydraulic pump is mounted on it. The rear bogey can also move independently of the front portion because of the hitch that is provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,028 discloses a mobile oil change trailer where the floor has a reservoir built in it.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,414 discloses an expandable structure with a raisable roof and slide-out wings that move on guide rails.
Therefore, there is still presently a need for a mobile multi-functional shelter unit, for use as a general working area (for example, as a classroom, training facility, hospital, dormitory, simulator) or a garage that can accommodate heavy machinery, which is easily transportable, ecological, safe for workers and quickly expandable.